Oct 29, 2008

Sooooooo I've started a new project. A wee one trying to merge my whimsical with my more classic elegant style. Ya know, dazzling beauties with cute and lovable animals? Well...remember the mice on a string? Hehe...I haven't been able to leave them be. First there is Lou...

Then there is Mark...

And now there's this....who knew they were part of Cinderella's household! Too bad Paulie is always missin' out...it's either eating or sleeping. He's so oblivious to the commotion around him.

Oct 25, 2008

It's official, the Fairy Blessings have gone live on my site and on Etsy.com. There are a total of 6. I plan on making more of these wee fairies, they are a blast to create! They're only about 4x6 inches in size, most painted in sepia watercolor. My favorite is the "Hope" and "Blessing" ones in sepia (I made it confusing because I've done two "Hope"..one in color and one in sepia.) Interested in knowing more? Visit their page! Or visit their shoppe page to purchase one.

Can you imagine how this Christmas season is going to be?! With the economy so screwy (here in the US of course). Department stores like Home Depot already have their holiday set ups displayed and totally scratched Halloween and Thanksgiving. Of course, I don't think thats to bad of an idea...although it's kinda weird. It gives us, the consumer, more time to spread out and budget our money. By the way...what's budgeting? /:|

So this made me rethink how I'm going to run my business this season. The Fairy Blessings are a part of it. They're small, already matted to 8x10 with black, and $75 for the sepia...$100 for the color.

Also I've made original paintings affordable by offering Lay Away. Lay Away is just that, layaway for the painting. Allowing the consumer 90 days to pay with three payments. I don't know about you, but money has been unbelievably tight this last month. At least gas has gone down. I live in Des Moines Iowa and it's down to $2.15. Too bad the rumors say we won't be getting below $2 for the rest of my lifetime. :( But even with gas going down, groceries have continued to go up. Yet, with all the money issues...I can say for having so little I have so much in life. Which is why I want to be able to share my work, to share that perspective with others, and make it easier to hold that emotion/feeling/affirmation in their hands. If you would like more details please visit my Lay Away policies page.

Commission requests for sizes 4x6 and 5x7 have also dropped in price. A 4x6 until December 5th is only $75, and a 5x7 until December 5th is only $100 ($75 off original price!).

Yet, as an artist, this year I think I'm going to have to find my own way of giving presents without artwork. My closest friends and family all have artwork...hum....gonna have to get creative. ;) Ideas anyone?

On a personal note my sister, Lexee, just got engaged!! Her beau, Jacob, has been a family friend for almost 20 years. I am SO happy to see her and Jake take this step in their relationship and thrilled to get started on helping her plan the wedding. Hehe...pull out the design tools. ;) So exciting!!! So many blessings their way. :)

Oct 16, 2008

Well, if you follow my newsletter and me then you know of Brian, my best friend and incredible boyfriend. Today he surprised me with the greatest gift including attention, affirmation, character, and affection. I just have to share because for me, this is so special I don't even know how I'm comprehending it!

Now, to you, it may not seem as big as it does to me. But today when I got home from work there was a note on my door. He had driven down from where he lives (an hour away) and set up a treasure hunt in my apartment. There were 35 clues numbered 1-35. Each clue led to the next through bible verses. He found verses that linked to my apartment through key words. Also, in each clue, was a puzzle piece. Once I found all of the clues (and the special bag of chocolate covered almonds), I put the puzzle together which had the final clue on the back. When I got the box (the treasure) and opened it, there was the camera I had been wanting since I practically met him! So below, for your enjoyment, is a picture I took with the camera and a close up of the pretty thing. I have named her Rose. :D

And keeping in the spirit of love, here is my latest piece...a request by my friend Candace...a fairy of blessing with a squirrel.

Oct 15, 2008

This was extra special because the students in my Tuesday night class helped me along with it. They're a cartooning class and really got into how this illustration should turn out. So I don't get 100% for this. The chef hat was one of their ideas...and I wasn't going to do the balloons but they wanted the balloons. Also it was their idea for the primary colors in the balloons and complementary colors for the outfits. Wait, I take that back, they wanted them to be secondary colors. Oh well...

Played a lot more with textures in this one. Let me know if I went over board. :P